Home
by Anybodysdaughter
Summary: Gibbs gets an unexpected call from Ziva and everything starts changing. Set during/after Honor Thy Father (semi AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

It was a damn good thing he brought that bottle of bourbon with him to Stillwater.

He didn't know what else to do. Leon practically forced him out the door for a few days, knowing full well he would want to be at work with his team. But there was work to do in Stillwater too; funeral arrangements and the like, but mostly, selling the store. That would be the most difficult part.

Being Gibbs, he didn't want to confide in anybody. Work through it, and yeah, probably drink through it, and build something, keep his hands busy forever, so he'd never have to feel again.

Ahh, dammit, who was he kidding, he needed to talk. To a woman. Back in the day, it would've been Jen, but she was gone. Whatever, maybe he'd just talk to himself and imagine her responses. It wouldn't have been the first time.

His phone rings, blocked number. Blocked numbers meant bad news but the way he thought about it, why reject it and wait for it to catch up with him?

"Hello," he said gruffly.

"Gibbs," answered a cool voice that sounded just a little too familiar.

"Ziver?" he replied, glancing over at the bourbon. Just how much of that stuff did he drink? Static-filled silence met his ear, and just as he was about to hang up, he heard her voice again.

"Gibbs, I- I missed you so much. So, so much." Her voice was thick with emotion.

Now it's his turn to be silent. What do you say to someone who left for year to take care of their problems alone? He figured she had a reason for calling, so he remained silent and took another long swig of bourbon.

"You were the closest thing I ever had to a father," Ziva's voice continued, "and I walked away. Again. I know that I meant this to be for you, to honor you, but I didn't consider, even in the phone call, that maybe you would not like what I was doing."

Damn, this bourbon was making him emotional too. He made a mental note to get rid of it after this conversation.

"Don't apologize, David," he brought himself to say, sounding a little like her boss again in his efforts to stay calm. "You did what you had to do. What I would have done."

He could almost picture her smiling into the phone at his response; God he missed her. He missed his old team back together, working cohesively and dysfunctionally and giving him so much to smile about. Bishop was great and all, but she had a life, a family outside of her work family. Gibbs couldn't pretend to be her father like he could with Kate, with Ziva.

"I didn't know what to do at first, how best to get rid of the old me" Ziva's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "I wandered for a while, but then I realized that that is what I had done before, when-" She broke off and took a quick breath. "So, I settled down. I found a nice village and I have been working with children in schools in the area."

"I built up a group of friends and acquaintances, and I have enjoyed my time here. But I am lonely, despite all the people I met and everything I did. I just wanted- I - I want to come home, Gibbs. I need to come home."

So many thoughts ran through his head. Home. Here? On the team? No, she gave up the badge. Doing what? Teaching? Does it matter? She's coming home. With the rest of us. My family'll be whole.

When his voice started working again, he said weakly, "You can stay at my place for a couple days while you find a place."

"Gibbs... Thank you. Thank you so much," Ziva breathed into the phone.

"I, uh, gotta favor to ask you, Ziver. Before you hang up."

"What is it?"

He took a shaky breath before talking. "How early are you planning on getting here? And, uh, could you, uh, stop by Stillwater when you get in?"

He had never sounded so unsure of himself, and Ziva picked up on it right away. "Gibbs, what's wrong? What has happened?"

"Jack- Dad- he had a stroke. He didn't make it. Happened yesterday, funeral's day after tomorrow."

"Oh, Gibbs. I'm so sorry. And, I'll be there Gibbs. I'll make it to the funeral. I will." There was a pause, and then- "Do you want to talk about it?"

He took a deep breath. "Yeah, I do. I just wish I could've been there. To comfort him, tell him I loved him, just make sure he knew that. He was a good guy, ya know? He really took care of Cal, and he loved that store. He poured his whole soul into that store. He loved everyone in this town, even if they didn't love him back." He couldn't speak for a moment; his throat had closed up and there were tears in his eyes.

Ziva took the moment to offer her memories of Jack. "I remember the first time I met him..." but Gibbs wasn't paying any attention. He was thinking of the pilot who saved his dad's life, and how much that had meant to his dad to pay a visit to this dying man. All the times his dad had stepped out for someone else. How he called his mom Chickadee, and they'd built a boat together, and how much he'd loved Shannon and Kelly.

He had the vague sensation that he had cut her off when his voice came back and he started thinking out loud again. "I've lost too many people. Mom, Shannon, Kelly, Jen, Dad. I don't want to lose anyone else. I don't want to. I don't want to. I need my family to be nearby now; I can't afford to lose you guys too. I need you to be close."

"O-Okay, Gibbs. I'll stay close."

"And the others- DiNozzo, McGee, Abby, Ducky."

Ziva probably thought he was going crazy, but he just needed reassurance. When Jenny died, Leon had scattered the team, and he couldn't have that again.

He could hear movement in the background, dishes clinking and paper being crumpled and folded. It took him back...

_"You haven't packed a single thing," the realtor commented, moving into the kitchen and picking up a plate. "You know you have to get out of this house by Tuesday, right?" She must have seen the look on his face because she sighed, and offered to help him._

_He slouched down into a kitchen chair, head in his hands as the realtor (Charlotte, was it? She was Joann's friend or something like that) started wrapping the dishes in brown paper and placing them in a box with a slight clink. Next it was the cups, the wine glasses, the mugs..._

"Gibbs? Are you there?" Ziva's voice pulled him back out of the past, and he shook his head to clear it.

"David, what's going on over there?"

"Oh, I am just packing. Is it distracting to you?"

"No, no, it's fine. Reminds me of a time I was moving out of my first house, when... But I should let you go."

They said their goodbyes, and Gibbs finished his glass of bourbon quickly, a celebratory drink he told himself all fathers partake when their daughters come home.


	2. Chapter 2

Ziva stepped off the elevator and suddenly Abby was standing in front of her.

"Hi, Abby."

Abby pulled her arm and practically dragged her around the corner. Confused and caught off guard, Ziva allowed herself to be pulled away from the bullpen.

"What were you _thinking_, leaving us like that? Do you know how much we all _missed_ you? Why did you even bother coming back? There's nothing for you here anymore, we replaced you when we realized how _stupid_ you were being." It was a terrible argument, but Ziva had never seen Abby this angry so she wasn't about to question it. This was even worse than when Abby berated her for doubting Tony a couple of years ago.

When Abby was done, it was obviously everyone else's turn. McGee, Tony, Ducky, Palmer all crowded her, asking the same questions and wasting no time breaking her heart.

"What are you doing here? You don't belong here anymore." She could read between the lines easily enough. They wanted her to leave and never come back. Her visitor's pass was getting heavier by the second, dragging her down, down; she was at Tony's apartment, at his front door, and he was staring at her, accusing her of leaving him alone.

"Why did you even bother, Ziva? You knew I'd be mad at you; there's no chance of us together now." Tony opened the door further to reveal a pretty blonde girl in a low-cut dress grinning and waving at her maliciously. At this moment the floor jolted (earthquake?), and Ziva fell on top of Tony. It was such a reminder of the past, '_that's not my knee,'_ she wanted to stay there forever, but his new girlfriend was shaking her shoulder, and kept insisting she get up and leave.

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Ziva awoke with a start, the woman sitting next to her shaking her shoulder and talking to her.

"Ziva, we have arrived. We are in the United States! You need to get up, you need to leave as quickly as possible, or you'll be late for your family!"

Ziva was still very upset by her dream, but she tried to be encouraging to the woman. She was very nice and had been a comforting presence as Ziva talked about the family that she was so excited to see again. "This is going to be great for you, Malka, you're going to love it here," she managed to say as she stood up and walked off the plane.

Ziva grabbed her luggage as quickly as possible, directed Malka to a cab, and gave her a piece of paper with her phone number on it. "If you need anything, I'm just a phone call away."

She hailed a cab to take her to Stillwater, and practically threw her luggage in the trunk. "I need to get there as fast as possible," she told the driver. She had chosen a long black dress to wear on the plane, specifically for this reason. In her carry-on was a black wide-brimmed hat that she would use to hide her face from her friends.

The cabbie was a quiet man, not one of the talkative drivers that she was used to in DC. This was a nice change, though, because it allowed her some time to think. Was this really the right thing to do, moving here, or was she just thinking about what was best for herself? Well, maybe she should have talked about it more with Gibbs, actually asked his opinion. If he didn't think it was a good idea, she would just hop back on the plane and go somewhere else. Where, she would deal with later.

Her thoughts turned to Jackson Gibbs. He was such a nice man. She could remember all the times when they'd seen him when they were working on a case...when she was an agent. No, she would think of all the times Gibbs got mad at him for normal old-people things- forgetting the oven was on, making Gibbs help out at the store. Redoing the car for Gibbs when he came home. She had rarely seen Gibbs so happy as when he rounded the corner and whipped past her and McGee in that car.

She couldn't help it, her thoughts floated to work- her old work- and the team. She wondered how they were doing. She figured McGee and Abby were pretty much how they were before, stuck in the cycle of working on case after case. And there was probably a new member of the team, most likely a girl. She wondered if this girl was pretty, and how much she flirted with Tony.

Tony. She wondered about him most of all. And worried. She hoped he hadn't been stuck in the past, that he had found some way to move on from her. He always had a hard time moving on, he had turned to drinking after Jenny died, and she wished he hadn't repeated that part of his life. And part of her,she didn't want to think how big, hoped that he still loved her, because she still loved him. But she knew that they would have to start up from the beginning again, take it slow. Ach, why was she even thinking about this? Why would he still be in love with her? After she pushed him away for the hundredth time? And yet- they had made so much progress the year before, before her father died, before they had resigned, before she decided to get away from it all. They could get back to that point. But it would take a lot of work on both of their parts. She looked out the window and refused to acknowledge any further thoughts she might have had regarding their relationship. Maybe if she stared hard enough, the image of passing trees would fill up her brain, and she would not have to think for the rest of the trip.

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She was late, of course. She approached from behind the team, and hid in expertly with the other mourners, not even turning her head to look at her friends. There was a time and a place for her to show up, and although she didn't have a plan of where or when, it definitely wasn't here and now.

They were just folding up the American flag, and handing it to Gibbs to keep. This was close to the end of the ceremony, if Ziva remembered correctly. Yes, the bugle was played, and then everyone walked by Jackson's grave another time before solemnly climbing in their cars to go home. There was sometimes food afterwards, but she doubted Gibbs had done anything about that, probably eager to be alone after this.

Gibbs was, as expected, the last to leave, and Ziva stayed until everyone else had cleared out. She stepped forward, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned, gave her a slight smile, and hugged her. "Glad you could make it, Ziver."

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so so so sorry it's taken me literal months to get this next chapter out to you guys! Thanks for all your great reviews and for your patience!**

**Anyway, this takes place the next day after the funeral, when Gibbs is still on leave for his father's funeral.**

Ziva was pacing Gibbs' kitchen, holding her phone out in front of her.

"Just call him, David. It isn't that hard."

"But it is, Gibbs. You don't know how- what the circumstances were when he left."

"So?" he prodded.

"So he's probably mad that I didn't call him or email him or even communicate at all after he got on that plane, but I had my reasons, and also I don't know what he's been going through, I mean, he could be married by now. _I_ could be married by now. So I can't go over to his apartment and ring his doorbell, but emailing him seems unnecessary now that I'm here. And then there's the possibility that-"

_whack._

"Dial. His. Number," Gibbs growled at her before turning and heading toward the basement to work on the boat.

Ziva was somewhat stunned that he had just headslapped her. The past two days had been emotional for both of them, and this was the first time he had acted like her boss again. It was a gust from the past that somehow it put her in a better mindset to talk to Tony.

"Thank you Gibbs."

"Don't thank me yet," he called from the stairs.

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"DiNozzo," he answered. His voice was lower than she remembered, but she could still tell that the gravelly tone was because he'd just been sleeping. She glanced at the clock and realized it was after midnight.

"Tony?" She paused for a moment, hoping he would recognize her voice. HHe didn't say anything, so with a quick breath she continued.

"It's Ziva. I'm, um, back in D.C. now. Hopefully for a while. So, uh, give me a call back if you want to, okay?"

In her opinion, it was a miracle he hadn't hung up on her yet, so she thought she'd just hang up and they'd talk another day when he was ready. She was about to hit _END_ when he cleared his throat. She froze, then pressed the phone up against her ear, listening to his breath, in, and out. Thirty heart-wrenching seconds passed before he finally spoke. His voice sounded thicker now, like he had something stuck in his throat. Or maybe it was just the phone connection.

"Ziva? It's-it's you? Ziva David, former Mossad Operative and NCIS Special Agent?"

"Yes, Tony, it is me," she replied, and her throat constricted on her, although she wasn't quite sure why.

"Do you, uh, is there any specific reason for your return?"

"I have decided to go to college, Tony. I want to be a teacher. It took me a while to figure that out, but I think it is the best option for me."

"Are you here looking for colleges then?"

"No, actually I have already decided to go to Georgetown in the fall." The conversation had taken a drastically different turn from what Ziva was expecting, but she supposed it was for the best. Of course they couldn't just pick up from where they left off. It was silly of her to have even considered it.

"Oh, that's good."

"Yes it is," Ziva replied, unsure what else to say. She wanted to ask him how he was, but she knew he would reply with _Oh, I'm just peachy_, or something of the sort. Plus, when_ if_ she saw him, she would be able to tell for herself.

"Would you- Would you want to go out for coffee with me sometime?"

"Ms. David, did you just ask me out on a date?" he replied in his too-fake, incredulous tone. "Cause if so, I'm free tomorrow morning," he continued. She could just picture him wiggling his eyebrows at her, or winking emphatically, a big grin on his face.

She rolled her eyes at Mind-Tony but couldn't stop the smile that was spreading across her face.

"That works well for me," she said, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice. "Would you like to pick me up, or should I meet you at the Navy Yard?"

"I can pick you up, no problem. Where are you staying, anyway?" She hesitated before answering. This was the part of the conversation that she'd been dreading. He had so many reasons to be angry with her, and the fact that she told Gibbs before him could be the frosting on the cake.

"I'm- I'm staying at Gibbs' place." He didn't respond right away, so she continued speaking. "Please, Tony, don't ask any questions. I can explain myself better in person tomorrow."

"I didn't have any questions, Ziva, I'm just still- Wow. You're here."

"I'm sorry, Tony. Ideally I would have told you before I got here, but-"

"Ziva, don't worry about it, it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

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Tony sat up in bed slowly. Wow. This was not happening. It couldn't be. He wasn't prepared enough.

_But you've been preparing yourself since she left_, he told himself. Before he could get his hopes up, or down, or...whatever, he needed to be sure. He unlocked his phone and dialed a number.

It took a few rings before a tired voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, there, buddy, good friend, wanna do me a favor?"

"Not really, Tony. Do you know what time it is?"

"Time for you to rise and shine, McGrumpy-pants. Can you trace a number for me?"

McGee sighed audibly. "Yeah, hold on. You owe me one, Tony." Tony could hear footsteps followed by the sounds of a whirring computer, and after a minute or so, McGee asked for the number.

There was a _ping_ as the results popped up, but McGee was silent.

"Well?" Tony prodded.

"Uhhh, um, where, how?" Obviously the Probie was still waking up; this was the most incoherent he'd heard him in a while.

"Can you just, like, give me something to go on here, McGee?"

"Tony, the phone, it's registered to Ziva. And...it's at Gibbs' house."

"Can you tell when it was first used?"

"It was used last night to call a pizza joint. And then again tonight-just now, to call you."

"Okay, thanks man, I appreciate it."

Tony was about to hang up when McGee spoke again. "How are we going to tell Abby?"

"I haven't figured that out yet McGee. I don't even really know how things are going to go down between the two of us. We're meeting for coffee tomorrow. I'll keep you posted. Oh, and thanks Tim, I appreciate it."

"No problem, Tony."

**A/N: I know Tim probably doesn't have tracking software at his house but whatever. Let me know what you guys think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A\N: Sorry again that this is so late. Thank you for all the reviews!**

They were both kind of quiet as they stood in line at Starbucks. During the car ride they'd exchanged pleasantries, he complimenting her new haircut, and she his navy blue suit. They'd almost gotten into an accident on the way because Tony kept looking over at her as if she was going to jump out of the car or disappear at any moment. Now, in a sea of people talking on the phone or laughing with their friends, Tony and Ziva stood together awkwardly, things decidedly undecided between them.

"My dad says hi," Tony said suddenly.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He just got remarried."

"Again?"

"Yeah, but this time'll last longer. He says she's his _soulmate._"

Ziva's head turned quickly to stare at him, openmouthed. Was he trying to reference their conversation years ago?

He let out one of his short, barking laughs. "Yes, that's really what he said. I'm not exaggerating."

She rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching up. "Sounds like Senior. Well, I'm glad he's happy. Anybody else that we know get married this year?"

"Well, Marcus from IT-wait, do you know him? He's one of the newer guys." Ziva shook her head. "Anyway, he got married to this really smokin' hot chick. Ummm, I think that's about it. McGee and Delilah are still together, although it complicates things now that she's in Dubai, and you know, the whole paralyzed thing."

Ziva gave him a blank stare. She remembered McGee was dating Delilah, but Dubai? And paralyzed?

"Tony, what happened? Is she alright?"

He gave her the details, but his voice sounded almost apathetic, removed somehow from the situation. Like he was trying to forget it all.

"Tony," she asked gently after he'd paid for their coffees, "how was this past year for _you_?"

"I don't really want to talk about it right now, Ziva."

She nodded, thinking. Questions chased each other around in her mind- what else had happened that she didn't know about? Was this talk of marriage depressing him? Had he gotten close to someone and almost proposed? Was it a repeat of Wendy?

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head. "So, how's Abby doing? And Jimmy and Ducky?"

"Oh! I completely forgot to tell you! Palmer's pregnant!"

"Jimmy is... pregnant?"

"Well, no, not him, Breena," he said, smiling. "She told him through this game he really liked, when I went to France to protect this girl."

He went on to tell her about the Admiral's daughter and her schemes. It was really weird to hear about cases second-hand, but she supposed she'd have to get used to it if she wanted to spend time with her old family.

"Anyway, enough about us, how've you been? And what have you been doing?"

"Well, I traveled for a while, anywhere I felt like. My father left me quite a large sum of money in his will, and I took advantage of it. But soon the places blurred together, and I decided to settle down. I went to Morocco and became a teacher at one of the schools there. I felt like I was really making a difference there."

A barista called out Tony's name, and they grabbed their coffees.

"So why'd you decide to leave and go to college?" Tony asked as they headed toward a table for two in the back corner.

"Some of the children were very smart, and they wanted to know about things I couldn't tell them. And, I missed Washington." She added the second part as an afterthought, but really she'd been ready to come back to the US and had made excuses to herself to justify it.

"I don't follow. What does going to college have to do with Washington?"

"Well, I could have just as easily gone to university in Israel, or anywhere around the world. My homeland is not...in the best shape these days, as I'm sure you have heard. So Washington was my next choice."

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It was a good thing Tony had taken a half day off of work, because they were each on their second cup, drawing out this coffee date longer than necessary because...well, why not? They were allowed to catch up for a few hours as friends, right?

"She's very beautiful." Ziva's voice broke through his thoughts and he turned to her, confused.

"Who?"

Ziva rolled her eyes. "That woman you were staring at, Tony."

"Oh," he said, turning back to the position he was in before. Yep, staring right at a woman across Starbucks. _Dammit DiNozzo, pull it together_. "Have you ever stared at something but not really seen it, just got lost in your thoughts? Because that's what just happened, I swear."

She laughed. "Why would it matter to me, Tony? It's not as if you and I are...you know."

_Together, _he thought.

"So, what were you thinking then?" she added.

"Oh, it's not important," he replied, maybe a little too quickly.

"Yes it is," she urged. "Tony, this is the new-new us, and I...I want to be more open about things now. Even more so than two years ago, after the elevator incident."

He sighed. "You asked me about the past year. Did I ever tell you about that summer I thought you were dead? It was one of the worst summers I'd had. If you asked me what cases we worked on, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I went through the motions, but my head wasn't in it. My _heart_ wasn't in it."

"What does that have to do with this past year?"

He stared at her for a minute, taking in, well, _her._ He had hoped she would've gotten the point by now, and he wouldn't have to explain his feelings to her.

"You...weren't there. I didn't-." He took a deep breath. "I didn't know if you were even alive. No texts, no emails, no fricken postcards, Ziva. It was just radio silence and I-." Another deep breath, and a pause. "I started going to this men's support group because I didn't know what else to do. I knew I couldn't be lost like I had been that summer. I knew I couldn't spend all my time drinking, but I had already started to. I tried, Ziva. I tried really hard because I had to tell myself you were coming back. _Any day now, she'll be back. Don't worry_. But another part of me knew that wasn't true. You would find yourself some family abroad and be perfectly content to leave your past behind you. And then I would never see you again."

She was silent for a little while after he spoke, contemplating her response. Finally, she looked straight into his wet, green eyes and said, "Tony, _you_ are my family. So is Gibbs, and Abby, and McGee, Ducky, Jimmy, everybody; my NCIS family is the closest family I've ever had." She stared down at her coffee cup and took a shaky breath. "I didn't mean to...to abandon you or anything. I just needed time to find myself, redefine myself." She looked up, and he could see the tears glistening in her eyes. "I am really, truly sorry, Tony. Please forgive me."

He couldn't be angry at her anymore, not while she was here in front of him. "I do, Ziva. I forgive you."

"So, how are you planning on telling everyone you're here?" he asked, changing the topic.

She cocked her head to the side, thinking. "I could call them all individually, talk to them like I did with you. But what fun is that?" she added with a smile. "Abby would never forgive me if I had an excuse to have a party and didn't use it."


	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs was one of the first ones to arrive for the party, already feeling uncomfortable in his outfit. DiNozzo had said, "It's going to be a fancy dinner, boss. That's what Ziva wants," so here he was, in nice slacks and a tie, way out of his element.

He stepped into Tony's bedroom to say hello to Ziva, who was getting ready and staying out of sight until she was announced. She looked gorgeous in a simple floor-length blue dress, with her hair falling just to her shoulders and long dangling earrings visible. "Hey, Ziver," he said quietly.

She turned around with a smile on her face, only half of her makeup done. "Gibbs!" She stood up to hug him. "Is anyone else here yet?"

"No." He kissed the top of her head, and turned towards the door, not wanting to ruin the surprise of the evening. "See ya later, kid."

He closed Tony's bedroom door just before there was a knock on the apartment door, and he opened it, revealing an arguing Abby and McGee.

"Look, _Gibbs_ is wearing a tie! Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, giving him a peck on the cheek as she walked in the door. "If he's wearing a tie, you have to! This is a fancy dinner for a reason, McGee."

McGee looked as if he were going to argue with her on that, but closed his mouth before any words came out.

"_Aaand_ you totally know why we're here, which is just _rude_, McGee. Rude!" McGee turned red, but said nothing.

Gibbs smiled to himself. McGee must know that Ziva was back, then. "Abby," he said warningly. No other warning was necessary, however, because just then there was another knock on the door. Abby ran to answer it, exclaiming over Bishop's dress, and said hello to Palmer and Ducky. She quickly retreated back to Tim, though, to tell him that Jimmy and Ducky were both wearing ties too. He sighed and put his tie on.

"What a lovely group of people here," Ducky exclaimed. "But where's Anthony?"

"Right here, Duckman." Tony appeared in the doorway from his kitchen with a dish of lasagna in his hands. He placed it on the table, and then turned to everyone. "So, you're probably wondering why I had this dinner party, and why I asked you all to dress up. Well, it wasn't totally my doing. We have a special guest here tonight, and I'll give you three guesses as to who the lovely lady is."

Tony's bedroom door opened, and Ziva walked out. It was probably not the way Tony had envisioned it, knowing the man's flair for the dramatic, but he got a good reaction nonetheless. Everyone gasped, either from surprise or because of how beautiful and _there_ she was.

"Ziva?" Abby walked forward slowly, her arm outstretched toward her friend, and Gibbs could see Ziva's face flicker with uncertainty. Abby gently placed her hand on Ziva's cheek, and pulled her into a long, soft hug, at least by Abby's standards. "I missed you so much, Zee."

"I missed you too, Abby." They both paused at the end of the hug to wipe their makeup and laugh about it.

"I missed everyone," Ziva announced to the group. "I missed seeing you all, and being here, and having this _family _to love and support me, and for me to love and support." She and Abby hugged again.

"Hey, Abbs, we need to hug her too," protested McGee as the girls hugged again. He stepped up to Ziva as Abby stepped back, and gave Ziva a hug as well, both of them smiling brightly.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Abby asked Gibbs as she sidled up to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "Yes, she contacted me and told me she wanted to come back. She's been staying at my place since Jackson's funeral."

"That's a long time to not tell us," she said quietly.

"Yeah, well, it was hard for her to figure out how to tell everyone she was back. She needed to call Tony first."

"She owed him that much," McGee offered, coming up on Abby's other side. "Want a drink?" he asked Abby, leading her to the kitchen.

Meanwhile Ducky was beaming as he hugged Ziva and sputtered, "Oh, my dear girl. Welcome home! It's so good to see you," and Palmer, rendered speechless, just gave her a quick hug while discreetly wiping at his eyes. Only Ellie hung back, and Gibbs could see why. She had no personal connection to this other woman, and Ziva's were big shoes to fill in the bullpen.

"Hey," he said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder. "D'ya want to meet her?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Yeah, but I dunno if that's such a good idea, Gibbs."

"Go," he commanded. He had a strange feeling that somehow those two would become good friends. He watched as Bishop approached Ziva and held out a hand. Ziva shook it, smiling and saying something that made Ellie blush. They were still talking when Tony came out of the kitchen and started yelling.

"Can you please sit down? Dinner's ready and you know you can all still talk to Ziva while you're eating!"

Slowly everyone took their seats, and Gibbs saw Tony gently caress Ziva's arm and kiss her forehead, talking lowly before he went back into the kitchen to retrieve the rest of the meal.

Tony had cooked an Italian meal of lasagna and salad, breadsticks and meatballs. There seemed to be an endless supply of wine, which everyone drank except for himself and Ducky, who elected to be the designated drivers if the need arose.

They covered a broad spectrum of topics, and the group got more open as the night went on. Tony brought out a chocolate cake with the words "Welcome Home, Ziva" on it for dessert, to which Ziva chuckled, and said "Tony..."

He grinned at her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Welcome home, Ziva." Everyone toasted to that and dessert was dished out.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur, with Ziva telling stories about the places she'd been, and the children she taught. Some of the funnier things the girls said to her were lost in translation, or only made sense that way. Abby told Ziva stories of crazy bowling nights with the nuns, and McGee talked about his trip to visit Delilah in Dubai. Duck jumped in at times with a somewhat related story. Ziva and Ellie got to know each other better, and it was an overall good time. Gibbs sat back and watched his family being together, relaxing and enjoying themselves. His chest felt suddenly very light, and he realized that the worry he'd been carrying around for Ziva and his whole team was gone. He hadn't even realized it was there in the first place. He knew this lightness was temporary, but even so, it was a nice feeling.

Sobered up, McGee drove the still-tipsy Abby and Ellie home, and Ducky offered to drive Jimmy home as well. As the door closed behind the Autopsy crew, Gibbs realized he was going to go home alone tonight. Tony and Ziva were cleaning up from the party, but kept exchanging those glances he'd seen them share for years. It was no secret to him that Ziva had come back to be with Tony. He just needed to give them more time to talk it out.

"Hey, Ziver, you staying here tonight?"

She looked askance at Tony, who smiled and nodded. "You know you're always welcome here."

She smiled back at Tony, and turned back to Gibbs, still smiling. "Yes, I am."

He gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead, then turned to Tony and hugged him as well.

**A\N: I hope you liked this chapter! **


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